The Aftermath
by PuraStones
Summary: What happened after the Red Death came down? Missing scene between "Well, most of him" and Hiccup woke up to Toothless. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **It's been forever since I last wrote something. Honestly, I feel like something has sucked my soul out of me! Despite the disease called "writer's block" (a cruel one it is), I have promised myself that I will try to come up with something worth reading. There have been many wonderful readers who send me amazing reviews for my stories even I haven't updated for months. But for their expiring encouragement I wouldn't be giving this a shot. So thank you very much!

Have you seen the first five minutes of "How to train your dragon 2"? It. Was. EPIC! I wish the 13th of June would just arrive quickly because I can't wait! Hiccup's new look is striking! Toothless is so cute and also majestic as ever! I just don't have enough of this duo!

This story is written in order to express my indescribable fondness toward "How to train your dragon". I don't care what the sequel is going to be like but I will always cherish the first movie and the emotions it has brought me! The fact that a lot of people had done this doesn't prevent me from doing mine!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own "How to train your dragon".

The Red Death perished with one hell of an explosion. Everything was blurry and foggy after that. Ash flew everywhere, smoke consumed the island and it seemed like even in its death, the monstrous dragon still aimed to kill. When Stoick saw Toothless lying on the ground and Hiccup was nowhere to be found, his heart was crushed. Guilt swallowed him whole, then slowly tortured him cruelly. There were no words which could describe whatever he was feeling at that horrifying moment. Nothing _could _be done that seemed right. For the first time, the chief didn't know what was to come, how he would live with himself, with what happened haunting his mind until his death. His comrades and the villagers that accompanied him on the suicidal foolish mission were lost, too. They were feeling things that they never thought they were capable of feeling. It was just… overwhelming.

"I did this."

"I'm so sorry."

Funny, the words went out of his mouth. What good would they do now? The person who was supposed to hear them was dead. His boy. Hiccup. The runt of Berk. As he thought that his words were just spoken for himself, the Night Fury's eyelids slowly opened. It lived. It survived. His son didn't. The creature that his son had risked his life to protect, the creature that he was born to kill was the closest living thing his son had ever had in his life. Toxic green eyes looked at him. Stoick suddenly felt like apologizing to the beast, too.

"I'm so sorry."

Those big eyes widened as if they were detecting the honesty in those words. After that, the dragon did something he never expected to happen. Black wings slowly opened, revealing the little human clutching in the dragon's claws. Hiccup looked so fragile, so tiny comparing to the massive black dragon. Hell, he looked frail comparing to everything. And he just slayed the unholy nightmare that no-one could ever imagine in a thousand years. The chief wasted no time thinking, hurriedly took his son into his arms, and took off his helmet so that he could hear the most precious sound in the world. In a few seconds, he held his breath and everything froze.

"Thump… thump… thump…"

"He's alive! You brought him back alive!"

Everyone immediately cheered! The hero had come back alive! Astrid smiled in joy, despite the tears in her eyes. Even the teens who bullied little Hiccup were relieved. They didn't realize they were crying until they wiped their own tears. They still didn't comprehend their own emotions. Never in their life had they thought about anything else except for dragon-killing and their own personal matters. It was all extremely confusing. But undeniably, there was this odd ache that weighed on their hearts which appeared right after the "smack-down".

Stoick felt like the gods had just granted him the greatest wish ever but he didn't realize the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself had actually made his prayer come true. His moment of relief was interrupted when his friend said:

"Well, most of him."

It was like being punched into the face repeatedly. At first, he didn't understand what Gobber was talking about but after his eyes caught the sight of Hiccup's left leg, guilt mercilessly attacked him again. Losing a limb before reaching maturity because of the foolishness of the child's own parent, how ironic that was! He told his people, his voice was strong, for the sake of everyone but people didn't miss how it shook the chief when he spoke:

"Everyone, try to fix the boats as fast as you can! We have to get back to Berk as soon as possible!"

Otherwise… He didn't want to think what would happen if they didn't get back in time. Gobber carefully looked at his apprentice's injury. It was nasty and bloody. Looking at it was hurtful enough, let alone bearing it. Hiccup was the last person he could ever think of to endure something like this, so tragic, so brutal. Gobber wasn't the boy's father, but he usually felt like it. His heart ached for the lad. More than anyone, he knew how exactly it was like. Even he wasn't a proper healer, he knew the leg couldn't be saved. The lad was going to lose it. Damn, it hurt. Stoick realized how critical his son's situation was as well, but the chief was too stubborn to admit it. Gobber somewhat hated his friend for being ignorance sometimes, but he couldn't blame the father either. It was hard, very hard. The blacksmith decided to spell it out to him:

"Stoick, his leg will have to go. There are no other options."

The other man looked like he was going to burst into tears like a child but all he did was bowing his head down and clenched his eyes shut. The news was torturous. The blacksmith was surprised when he got a verbal reply, but from someone else. Astrid.

"What do you mean by _his leg has to go_?"

"Astrid, if it doesn't, then **he **has to go." Gobber answered quickly.

The strong Viking girl cried out, tears fell freely on her cheeks as she ran off. She had never done that ever since she could remember and it was horrible. Life was unfair. Hiccup didn't deserve that fate. He saved the day and what he got was a life threatening injury. She couldn't help but blame herself, for helping in the process of making Hiccup an outcast of the village. Fishlegs was the first to see her coming.

"What happened Astrid? What's wrong?"

"Hey Astrid, do you want to help us repair these ships?" Snotlout asked invitingly.

The twins were whacking each other with pieces of woods from the broken ships.

"Hiccup's going to lose his leg."

"What?" Fishlegs didn't believe what he had just heard.

Astrid couldn't repeat the unpleasant news. Snotlout even had the gut to ask:

"But it will grow back, right?"

Astrid felt like beating the guy up but she didn't find the energy to do so. Ruffnut actually cared:

"No other options?"

"No. It's his leg or his… life." Astrid replied.

"Why do I feel like it's our fault?" Fishlegs asked out loud.

"Stop talking rubbish. How come it's our fault? He's responsible for his leg!" Snotlout said, but he didn't believe in his words.

Their conversation was suddenly disturbed as people shouted at each other loudly from the distance.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked, her voice was shaken.

"They're arguing." Tuffnut said.

"No, YOU do it! You're his father!" Gobber growled angrily. He couldn't bring himself to do whatever they had to do in order to save Hiccup.

"That's exactly why I CANNOT do it! Gobber, you have more experience about this than I do!" Stoick tried to reason with his friend.

In his life, the chief had never been hesitant when it came to using a sword or any weapons to bring down an enemy. Now, the sword that would be used to amputate his son's leg seemed to weigh a thousand tons. No, he just simply couldn't.

"You're a lousy father, Stoick. You can't even do this for your own son!"

The chief was desperate and at the same time, he really wanted to hit his friend for doing this to him.

"Fine then, I'll do it. But you need to hold him down for me. We're not going to like his reactions."

"I can't do that either." Stoick whispered painfully. He felt so small, smaller than his son.

"For Odin's sake, what CAN you do?" Gobber bellowed in frustration.

The teens felt their knees weakened as the conversation went on. Hiccup was going to have his leg cut off after he nearly got burned into ash. This kid was seriously attracted to unspeakable disasters. The Vikings who were witnessing the scene swore to the gods no-one could feel as awful as they could right now. Stoick wondered why he hadn't died from all the emotions that he possessed. However, they were terribly wrong. Someone could feel a lot worse than they could. It was only when Gobber took out his sword did they realize that their emotions were just a spoonful of tea comparing to the feeling of one living being.

The shining blade was introduced to the world, blinding almost everyone around there with misty eyes. But then…

"RRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

Before anyone could blink or take a breath, the wounded Night Fury proved himself to be an offspring of lightning by standing up despite his conditions and shielding his rider from the Vikings. The people were stunned. His pupils turned into slits as his wings were unfurled and spread widely. His tail moved around dangerously but somewhat thoughtfully, avoiding Hiccup's body but aiming for anyone who dared to come close. Everyone felt like dropping their jaws. _The unholy offspring of lightning and death _indeed.

Toothless was tired. Yes, he was absolutely worn out. Yes, he felt like hell. But all of that disappeared right when he saw a human approaching his little friend with that killing object. No way would he let anyone hurt his wounded human more than he already was. That was **not **going to happen. He growled menacingly while his paws touched Hiccup's arm with tenderness. The Vikings could almost understand what the dragon was trying to say to Hiccup:

"_Wake up, please! You have to wake up, wake up for me!"_

And to the Vikings, he was making it crystal clear:

"_Take one more step near him with that thing, you'll be very sorry."_

Gobber felt his heart slamming his chest at the sight of the dragon. Together they could easily subdue the creature but obviously, Hiccup wouldn't be happy with that, especially if they hurt his dragon. Besides, they weren't so confident when it came to Night Furies either. Who knew what the dragon could do when Hiccup wasn't awake to tell the beast not to hurt people. If it weren't for the lad, Toothless would undoubtedly kill Stoick in the arena without a second thought.

"Toothless, please, Hiccup needs us to do this for him." Astrid said softly and slowly, raising her hands up in the surrendering gesture.

People stared at her with unreadable expressions, making the girl feel like she had done something wrong. A thought crossed her mind, wondering if this was how Hiccup felt all the time in his short life. No wonder why Hiccup befriended and trusted a dragon instead of his own tribe. Toothless would never give him that look.

The dragon didn't believe her, which wasn't so surprising. Why should he? They were just words. Words are meaningless and manipulating. Hiccup did talk a lot, yes, but his actions spoke louder. Toothless wasn't planning to back down anytime soon. He whined and crooned loudly, getting desperate to get Hiccup to open his eyes. The dragon even stamped his feet and flapped his wings every once in a while. Hiccup was very still and didn't stir.

Gobber had many encounters with dragons. He always knew that dragons were mindless beast and they always went for the kill. But that knowledge was proven wrong just about a few hours ago and now he didn't know what to think. The dragon clearly understood everything Hiccup spoke. Therefore, the dragon must have understood what Astrid said. Then why didn't he let them…?

"You don't believe us do you?" Gobber asked slowly.

The dragon growled at the sudden question, circling himself around his human. Hiccup was completely hidden now. Toothless bared his teeth, clearly saying that he didn't. Gobber sighed and rubbed his face.

"Everyone, back down."

People were puzzled at his command. Stoick said:

"Just do as Gobber says! Everyone, back down!"

The Vikings reluctantly gave the dragon and his boy some space. Gobber thought of dropping his weapon to gain Toothless' trust but that wouldn't help him deliver the point to Hiccup's protective friend. He asked:

"So… you understand me, right….. uh…"

"Toothless." Astrid provided.

"Yes, that's right. You understand me, right Toothless?"

The Night Fury titled his head slightly at the question. He slowly brought his head down cautiously. The dragon tried to make out the big human's intention behind the question.

"That's great! Uh, well, Hiccup needs serious help." Gobber spoke very slowly, gesturing at Hiccup and at himself when he said the word _help_. "I can help him, if you let me."

Toothless tried to digest the man's words. Great, it sounded like Hiccup's fate was his to decide now. The Night Fury eyed the weapon, nodded his head toward the threat.

"Oh, why do I hold this sword? Good question." Gobber scratched his hair. Damn, this dragon was smart, very smart. He knew the right questions to ask.

"Okay, I will be frank. Hiccup's leg's going to **kill **him. I **cut **it off, or he **dies**. You understand?"

Hearing this, the Night Fury contemplated. The dragon took in a deep breath, sniffing for any kind of deception or conspiracy behind this, but he detected none. The man's heart was beating fast, but it was only logical. Toothless whined sadly, looking down at his human and licked his cheek adoringly. He stepped away from the little human but stayed close, signaling for Gobber to approach. Still, his draconic eyes were on the dangerous blade.

"Thank you." Gobber said meaningfully. "You mind holding him down? He's your best friend after all."

Toothless was scared for Hiccup's life, angry at the Vikings and mad at himself for not being able to save Hiccup fully. But the dragon knew he must be calm and composed for Hiccup's sake and his own. He nodded lightly, placing his head on Hiccup's upper body, whining pitifully. Gobber counted:

"One…"

Astrid placed her hands on her mouth to keep herself from shouting. She was shivering like she just caught a cold. The twins hugged each other (it was a rare scene) while Snotlout looked away.

"Two…"

Stoick forced himself to look. He deserved this. He didn't have the courage to do this for his son, to hold him down but he needed to see this, to know what exactly he had done to his only child.

"Three!"

The blade came down, swift and clean, right under Hiccup's knee. The worst part was expected but it still made people unnerved. Hiccup screamed his throat out, thrashing violently under Toothless' head. Hearing his rider's scream, Toothless roared like someone just hit him with an axe. The dragon wish he could endure a fragment of what Hiccup was experiencing. Hiccup started talking to no-one:

"It hurts! Make it stop! Please make it stop!"

"It's alright Hiccup, I promise!" Stoick and Gobber immediately tried to calm Hiccup down.

"Please… please… make it STOP! Stop this!"

People didn't dare to look at Hiccup directly. They tried to look at something else. Toothless licked Hiccup's cheek in order to comfort him in futile.

"Just KILL ME, I don't want to feel this!"

"Oh god, Hiccup, you're fine, calm down!" Stoick shouted like he was ordering his son to calm down, which made things worse.

"Oh Thor, dad's mad again!" Hiccup mumbled, then shouted at the top of his lungs again, his green eyes slightly opened. "KILL ME AND LEAVE TOOTHLESS ALONE!"

At this one, people really wanted to 1) rip their ears off so they didn't have to listen anymore, 2) gag Hiccup so he would stop torturing them verbally. It was an absent-minded accusation. Toothless crooned sadly, holding his human down with his paws, pushing Hiccup down gently with his head.

"TOOTHLESS RUN, THEY'LL KILL YOU! THEY'RE KILLING ME!"

"Your dragon is fine. I'm sorry, Hiccup. I'm so sorry!" Stoick said repeatedly.

After a while, the thrashing and shouting ceased but the words kept playing again and again in everyone's head. Toothless growled at everyone who got too close for his liking, except for maybe Gobber.

"We have a lot to make up for." Astrid announced weakly but surly.

"Yes, we do." Stoick agreed.

"But I doubt that dragon's going to let you near Hiccup to do that." Gobber said

It was going to be a long trip home.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I must admit that I'm very surprised to receive so many positive replies from this story (it's been done many times before). I'm utterly grateful!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own How to train your dragon.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Contrary to their prediction, the journey home wasn't eventful. It was somewhat pretty smooth comparing to what happened on Dragon Island. The Vikings quietly talked to each other, discussed the damage and how to tell the villagers back on Berk about the battle against the giant beast. Stoick tried to make himself useful but just like after the battle, he was powerless. Gobber busied himself with calculating the amount of time Hiccup had before infection got to him.

"I would say we have only three days max."

Stoick found himself speechless. With all the damage, it was difficult to get back on Berk in three days. Astrid suggested:

"How about we take Hiccup back to Berk on dragons?"

"Wind is the last thing he needs right now, lad." Gobber shook his head in depression. "Besides, I don't trust anybody's riding skill right now, and the best rider we know is unconscious at the moment."

Toothless perked up at the word _rider_. He eyed the blacksmith warily, inquiring about what he was talking about.

"Ah ya black devil, we need to get back to Berk quickly or things will get ugly."

The Night Fury tilted his head at the statement, thinking hard. He turned to the other dragons, the Deadly Nadder, the Monstrous Nightmare and the Zippleback, roared at them. It was a strange scene but apparently they were communicating. The other dragons seemed to pay serious attention to Toothless.

"It looks like he has an idea." Fishlegs commented.

"Huh, he really _is _Hiccup's dragon." Astrid replied proudly.

The Night Fury held the rope which was keeping the saddle and flying gears on his back in his claws, gesturing toward it.

"You want to take it off?" Gobber asked.

Hearing that, the dragon reacted rather violently. His pupils turned into slits again and he growled.

"Okay okay, but once we get on board, that saddle is off if you want your injuries gone!"

Toothless pointed at the rope again and sat on his hind legs, making people amazed and shocked. It was weird seeing a dragon sit like a normal human. The dragon raised his front legs and created distance between them, extending it until he couldn't. Then he looked at the humans expectedly. The teens scratched their heads.

"It wants… a hug?" Fishlegs guessed.

"Idiot, why would it need a hug?" Snotlout asked. "I think it wants to eat."

"How about killing us? Makes more sense to me!" Ruffnut said, earning a whack on the head.

"Okay, enough children!" Gobber cut them off impatiently. "I think he's asking for a long rope."

Toothless raised six claws.

"Okay, six long ropes." Gobber couldn't help but feel triumph as the Night Fury nodded his head.

It took them a while to get six long ropes. To their curiosity, Toothless gave each dragon two ropes and tied the other heads of the ropes to the boats or at least _tried_ to. Some bold Vikings decided to help after saw the ridiculous failed attempts of the clumsy dragon.

"He's smart." Stoick concluded.

"Ya think?" Gobber asked. "Hiccup tamed him well!"

A growl was heard coming from the black dragon at the word _tame_, but no more objections were made.

"Wow, they are willing to pull us back? This is amazing!" Astrid exclaimed, completely lost her mind to what was happening, something that they thought to be impossible was taking place in front of their eyes.

"Only because Hiccup is in trouble." Fishlegs said as each dragon did something like a bow toward the Night Fury and his rider before taking off to do their job.

"The lad has indeed achieved greatness." Gobber looked at his apprentice fondly. "Come on, it's about time we moved!"

On the boat, Toothless never left Hiccup's side. He was like the little Viking's shadow.

* * *

When they were back at the village, it was pure chaos. Stoick and everyone who witnessed what happened took a long time to explain the crazy event before they could move Hiccup to his house for proper treatment. The villagers were unnerved at the sight of the _unholy offspring of lightning and death_ following Hiccup, but they made no comments. Luckily, the healers knew exactly what they were doing and didn't give Toothless, Gobber and Stoick any hard time. They said that Hiccup's fever would be the only threat then. The depressing thing was they couldn't tell when he would wake up. For all they knew, he might never open his eyes again.

Settling down was another big deal. At first, Stoick didn't let Toothless come in and that really pissed the Night Fury off. Looking after his rider all the way back only to be forced to leave him alone was unacceptable. The arrangement ended with three plasma blasts, a heated argument between Stoick and Gobber and the broken door from Stoick's house. The chief had a great urge to attack the dragon right when the creature fired at him but was stopped by Astrid and Gobber. Then when the argument took place, Toothless took it upon himself to smash the door and bolted right upstairs to be with Hiccup and hadn't moved a muscle since.

Stoick couldn't stop himself from glaring at the Night Fury whenever he got the chance. Spending his whole life slaying these beasts, it was hard to see one in his house. Gobber kept him company at nightfall when the blacksmith had finished the tasks he was given. Hiccup's fever was at bay so the men allowed themselves to relax a bit. Things went downhill when the rider started mumbling in his coma. It began with thrashing. Toothless whined lightly and pressed his head on Hiccup to refrain him from injuring himself further. After that, Hiccup started freaking out feeling himself being restrained and Stoick was somewhat happy to have a reason to get the dragon away from his son. But that idea immediately led to disaster as Hiccup heard Stoick's voice shouting at Toothless.

"Toothless… Toothless… You have to leave me and go…" The boy kept mumbling, his face twisted into a painful frown.

Toothless wasted no time getting back to his rider's side, crooning softly in hope of comforting the little hatching.

"Your dragon's fine, snap out of it kid." Gobber said gently.

"Oh Toothless, I'm so sorry I let you down…" Hiccup went on with his self-chastising.

It was a while until Hiccup was lost to the world again. Stoick and Gobber went downstairs to clear their minds.

* * *

"They're close, really close." Gobber said.

"Too close, Gobber." Stoick said, his voice shivering. "It shouldn't be like that."

"Yet it is, Stoick." Gobber replied. "You have to make peace with that if you want your son to live here when he wakes up."

This got the chief's attention. Hiccup would actually move out to be with his dragon if Stoick banned the creature from the house. It was clear after what had been happening.

"It's my fault. I have no-one else to blame." The words were sour, extremely sour.

"You have the rest of your life to make up for it, Stoick." Gobber took sips of mead from his glass. "It's **our **fault, to be exact."

"I don't know what I can do to fix this." Stoick rubbed his face in depression.

"What is there to fix, Stoick? The kid's got himself a loyal friend until the end of time, eliminated the biggest threat which had made our lives hell for 300 years in about an hour and opened our blind eyes!" Gobber said, waved his hand.

"Not making it any better, Gobber." Stoick said in annoyance. His friend was wise, but he wasn't good with words. "You forgot to mention getting disowned by his foolish father and losing his leg before he even reached maturity!"

"Well, Hiccup's a forgiving person, that I can tell you since I'm his mentor. About the second issue, he'll get over that. He's going to be just fine." Gobber said.

"How can you say that, Gobber?" Stoick was taken back at the confidence in Gobber's tone. It was like the blacksmith know Hiccup had prepared for something like this.

"That kid's strong enough to survive all those years on his own, not to mention that Night Fury's going to be there every step from now on." Gobber pointed out the facts. "Besides, he might even think that he deserves this, since he was the one who took that dragon's tailfin away."

He was swarmed by guilt again. It hurt more than getting hit by a weapon he must admit. Stoick was blind to his own son's strength. He was too blind because of his expectations. Now hearing his friend analyzed his son's bond with that dragon, he was scared that he couldn't really find any reasons for Hiccup to stay here with his tribe once he woke up.

"What if he leaves the moment he wakes up, Gobber?" Stoick asked in fear.

"If that's what he really desires, you're going to refuse _again_, aren't you?" Gobber asked. "Don't worry, like I said, he's a forgiving person. He's not going to hold grudge."

"I want to give him at least a very good reason to stay here." Stoick said.

"Well, if you insist, you have to let the dragons stay while I make him a prosthetic leg and repair that dragon's flying gears." Gobber rubbed his hands together. He was really excited to get on with the job. "I must say Stoick, the saddle and that prosthetic tailfin are really something… I could never teach him to make something like that, so sophisticated, so detailed!"  
Stoick found himself shamefully surprised at his friend's words again. He knew absolutely nothing about his son apart from Hiccup was small, he rode a Night Fury, slayed the Red Death, lost his leg in the process and was mistreated by his tribe since his mom's death. He was going to change that.

And Stoick the Vast was going to need serious help.

* * *

**A/N: I love reviews just as much as I love Toothless and honestly, I'm crazy because of Toothless! Oh my other How to train your dragon stories, "Who and where I'm supposed to be" and "Sun of the night" aren't so bad if you have the time. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **You guys are really good at sending me to Candy land! It feels nice to be back!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own How to train your dragon

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were assigned an interesting task: clean up Hiccup's room so it wouldn't look like a battlefield. At first, Snotlout didn't react so well.

"Cleaning Hiccup's room? Where's the excitement in that?"

"Shut up Snotlout!" Astrid punched his head. "Hiccup had done something no-one could. The least we can do is showing him we are grateful and sorry for treating him like an outcast!"

"Young Astrid is right!" Gobber nodded in approval, but then he smirked. "And if you want excitement Snotlout, you'll get some from doing this task!"

The teens didn't know what the blacksmith was talking about until they actually did it. Cleaning a room wasn't difficult, no. _Getting into _the room was a pretty big deal. They didn't expect Hiccup's bodyguard.

"Grrrr…" That was the first thing they heard when they reached the doorway.

The Night Fury hadn't left Hiccup's side since they got home. He was lying on the floor next to Hiccup's bed. The dragon made no move to attack but the aura coming from him wasn't welcome. He was as still as a statue, but his eyes... The pupils were thin, which was bad news. Not to mention his teeth were really something to behold.

"Okay, question. Why on Earth did Hiccup call that dragon Toothless?" Tuffnut asked.

"I guess we have to wait for him to wake to know." Fishlegs swallowed nervously, replied shakily.

Astrid, despite the flight she had with Hiccup, had no idea how to approach the mysterious creature (at least to them) correctly. Again, she was face to face with unfavorable emotions. She wanted to blame Hiccup for causing her those feelings but reality was undeniable: she only had herself to blame. Fishlegs said:

"Maybe we should use the same technique he showed us before the battle!"

"You're kidding me right?" Snotlout eyed the Night Fury like he was going to wet his pants.

"I never think I'm going to say this, but Snotlout is right." Astrid said, trying to compose her voice. "Toothless is no ordinary dragon. He's Hiccup's, after all."

"So any suggestions?" Fishlegs looked at Astrid hopefully.

"We apologize." She stated confidently. It took Stoick's apology to make Toothless reveal Hiccup's survival. "I'll go first. Hand me a fish."

"Um, are you sure?" Tuffnut asked warily. "The last thing we need is that dragon burning down the house and killing us in the process."

"He won't." Astrid confirmed. "He won't risk hurting or upsetting Hiccup."

Astrid boldly stepped forward. Toothless' attention was fully on her. The air was tense.

"Toothless, I'm the girl who flew with you and Hiccup before."

She got no reactions. The teens didn't know for sure whether that was positive or negative.

"I'm very sorry for what happened to Hiccup and to you." As she spoke, she presented the fish to Toothless slowly. "And I assure you, my friends feel the same way." She gestured for the others to do likewise.

Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins were hesitant at first, but they followed her lead.

"We're sorry, Toothless…" They mumbled, avoiding the heated stare of the Night Fury.

Toothless tapped on a spot on the floor in front of him, and then looked at the teens' offered fish.

"I think that's our cue to put the fish on the floor?" Fishlegs said questioningly.

They looked at each other, hearts beating fast. Slowly they put their fish on the spot Toothless had pointed to, not daring to drop the fish or making any moves that appeared threatening to the dangerous creature. They nearly hugged each other and called for their mommies when the dragon made a sudden move and swallowed five fish at the same time! It was such a sight! After that, Toothless looked meaningfully to Hiccup's study, allowing the teens to go inside while he climbed into Hiccup's bed and curled around the boy. He clearly tolerated them but didn't trust them.

"Thank you Toothless." Astrid said and immediately set into motion.

The others couldn't say anything more, looking at the dragon curling around his rider like a big pet. They prayed their mental comparisons weren't seen or detected by Toothless or they might end up like their fish.

"Wow guys, check this out!"

"What, what is it?" Snotlout asked.

The teens felt their jaws dropped as their eyes caught what Astrid was showing them. There were a lot of pictures drawn by Hiccup. In fact, all the papers on the desk were pictures. They were all irrevocably lively and _real_, as if Hiccup had captured everything and put them on the papers. It was absolutely mind-blowing. They were surprised when they saw there was a picture of them, too. They were speechless.

"Hey Tuffnut, you in the picture look better than the real you!" Ruffnut claimed

"Hey, look again! I still look better than you!"

They became quiet when a growl was heard. Toothless wasn't happy with the noise. Astrid couldn't help but admired the details of the picture. They didn't know Hiccup was so good at drawing! But then, what did they know about him? There was only one picture of the teens but five more of Astrid alone. She felt flattered. However, she felt horrible as she read what he wrote about her.

"_Astrid is the bravest and prettiest girl I've ever known, but in the end, she's just like the others. I was nothing in her eyes. It is clear that I shouldn't waste more time on her, for her sake and mine."_

The same went with Stoick, his father.

"_I've tried so hard to be his son, to make him proud. I think there will be time when I can no longer try. But until then, I won't stop."_

The pictures of Gobber were obviously drawn with more passion.

"_Sometimes I wonder if he was my real father. I can never thank him enough."_

The other teens soon saw the same thing Astrid did and all of them wanted to change it. Their thoughts were interrupted when Fishlegs said:

"Guys, I think there's something under this floorboard!"

"Come on, help me take it out!" Snotlout urged the others as he lifted the floorboard.

"Okay, got it. Put it down Snotlout!" Astrid said. They found a stack of paper hidden under the floorboard.

They found themselves looking at hundreds of Toothless, drawn with intense passion. It was like Hiccup had spent his whole life sketching the Night Fury. Every picture was flawless, they could almost feel Hiccup's heart on the paper. The Night Fury saw the pictures, too and he crooned proudly.

"It looks like he loves him most, Toothless." Astrid stated, feeling a pang of jealously snaking into her heart.

"Wow, this is just unbelievable!" Fishlegs complimented as he looked at the pictures of Toothless playing or doing something cute and ridiculous.

"Are you sure this is real or Hiccup made these up?" Tuffnut said. "Because I can't imagine how this dragon could do things like catching a butterfly or hanging itself upside down!"

"Well I can." Astrid said. "In front of Hiccup."

Then for the first time, they found a picture of Hiccup. It was a special one since Hiccup folded it carefully. It showed Hiccup touching Toothless as he turned his face away, trusting the dragon with his life. He wrote something under the picture.

"_Toothless the Night Fury, my best and only friend, introduced me to the first dawn of my life. I promise I will not let anything happen to him, as long as I shall live."_

"Wait, so Hiccup had never seen a sunrise before he met a dragon?" Tuffnut was confused.

"Idiot, he means that he never actually lived before he met the dragon!" Ruffnut argued.

Everyone was quiet at the statement. It sounded odd, but it made sense.

"Well, we have a lot of make up for." Astrid said, continued her job.

"What are these?" Snotlout cut her off before she could say anything else.

"Toothless' tail contraption designs." Astrid widened her eyes. "I cannot understand a thing!"

"That's because Hiccup's brain is different from us, Astrid!" Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, no wonder he's got no muscles! Because they all go to his brain!" Snotlout looked like he just discovered the most important thing in the history of mankind.

"And we ought to show him we were wrong to hate that brain of his!" Astrid declared seriously.

The impossible happened. They all agreed.

"Toothless…" Hiccup mumbled weakly. Toothless licked his face gently.

The teens knew right then. No matter how hard they tried, Hiccup had already devoted himself to Toothless.

**A/N: Reviews please?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I'm so very sorry for neglecting this! Your precious time reading this story and amazing reviews you sent are all greatly appreciated, I assure you! And by the way, How to train your dragon 2 was PERFECTION!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own How to train your dragon.

**Chapter 4**

Stoick found himself stuck in a trance looking at his son's drawings. There were 7 high stacks of drawings lying neatly on Hiccup's table along with charcoal pencils and little tools. Somehow (the chief doubted it was unintentional), the picture of Stoick was on the top of a stack. The line written on it froze the old Viking right then and there.

"_I've tried so hard to be his son, to make him proud. I think there will be time when I can no longer try. But until then, I won't stop."_

A horrible combination of pride, guilt and sadness hit Stoick,_ hard_. He was proud of his son's stubbornness and determination to do him proud. And how did he react to those non-stop efforts? _I don't deserve a son like you Hiccup_ - was the only thing he could think of. The drawing was just as mesmerizing as the words, so lively, so detailed. Hiccup drew lines that spoke volumes of how he felt. Swallowing the lump of emotions which was doing a great job blocking his throat, Stoick quietly flicked the pages to see more.

Drawings after drawings, the chief couldn't believe that he was too blind to realize how talented and gifted his son was. All the feelings that washed over him urged him to burst out crying… or lauhing proudly but he restrained himself so he wouldn't accidentally wake up his son and the Night Fury who was curling around his human in the little bed. Speaking of the devil, Stoick stole a glance at the unholy creature. It would be foolish of him to believe that the Night Fury was actually sleeping. Those toxic green eyes might be hidden from the world but he dared to bet that if he did something the dragon viewed as a threat, it would look at him dead on. The last thing any of them needed now was a silly fight.

Seven stacks of drawings and only one was of the villagers of Berk. From the drawing of the blonde girl, Astrid Hofferson, it was now announced officially that his son had a crush on Berk's prettiest and fiercest girl. Stoick was a little jealous when he saw Hiccup's words for Gobber but it was fair and there was nothing he could do to deny that fact.

The other two stacks were of the breath-taking landscapes and scenery of Berk: houses, animals, lakes, seas, cliffs, plants… Spending almost all of his life alone, Hiccup occupied himself with drawing things that stood still and let him be himself without insulting him. Stoick was angry at himself as he figured out that little truth but also couldn't help admiring the magnificent beauty of his hometown. Obviously, Hiccup felt the same since he spent a great deal of time observing Berk. The chief hoped that the familiarity and beauty of Berk would be one of the reasons that kept Hiccup on Berk when the boy woke up from his coma.

His tiny beacon of hope soon vaporized as he moved to the next three stacks. Out of seven stacks, three were drawings of _the unholy offspring of lightning and death_. There were so many of them! As if Hiccup had been drawing the beast since he was born! It was absolutely unnerving and heart-breaking. He was depressed, guilty _again_, angry (at who he knew not), _jealous_ (of who was pretty obvious but he refused to confirm that) and alarmed. The Night Fury, the most atrociously dangerous dragon of all dragons, was some kind of harmless playful caring _pet_ in Hiccup's eyes. Well, looking closely, _pet_ was inapproriate in this situation since the way his son drew the Night Fury's big eyes and expressions, so _passionate_, so _deep_ and filled with love, indicated how much, or to be exact, a fragment of how much this terrifying giant reptile meant to his son. Every drawing was different but held the same meaning: the Night Fury was the best thing that happened to Hiccup after his mother's death. The dragon sleeping on the grass or hanging upside down, the dragon eating fish, the dragon sitting on its hind legs, hell the dragon _smiling_ a freaking _toothless_ smile! Toothless indeed… The meaning behind the odd name his son had given the beast suddenly was clear as daylight. And so on… Toothless chasing a butterfly, Toothless rolling on a meadow of grass, Toothless yawning, Toothless _pouting_ for Odin's sake! Everything. There was a drawing of Hiccup and his dragon sitting side by side, leaning on each other while watching the day melt away. And that wasn't the most special one.

"_Toothless the Night Fury, my best and only friend, introduced me to the first dawn of my life. I promise I will not let anything happen to him, as long as I shall live."_

Stoick was numb. _Best and __**only**__friend_. **First**_dawn_. If the chief didn't know before, he certainly did now. He was… _hopeless_. It was like reading a certificate or declaration of some sort about how ready his son was to just waltz to anywhere and do everything to ensure this dragon's survival and safety. Had the moment that Hiccup _could no longer try_ to make him proud arrived, before he even acknowledged his son's effort? Hel, his awkward skinny Hiccup wrote that he wouldn't let anything happen to a dragon as long as he shall _**live **_but already foresaw a time when he grew tired of gaining his father's attention.

Stoick didn't know what he was struggling to take control over, his breathing pattern or his emotions, or maybe both. It was getting harder every second and knowing that he had _intentionally_ ignored his son for most of his life wasn't really helping. Before he could make sense of his feelings, his ears were greeted with quiet noise coming from Hiccup's bed. That was what it took to wipe his mind blank.

The Night Fury, or Toothless, was staring at him. His pupils weren't slit but they weren't really round either. Stoick figured that the dragon didn't feel negative about him being in the same room with his son but that didn't mean it was happy. Obviously, Stoick was just another human to the Night Fury. Screw being Hiccup's sire, if he did something that looked threatening to his son or the black beast, there was no doubt it would strike him down right away without battling an eyelid. Neither of them moved a muscle.

The staring contest was a frustrating one. Stoick was quite annoyed and crossed that he lost the battle. Humans didn't have the ability to be still for long, not like animals, especially a predator like the Night Fury, who was born to be silent and deadly. Stoick broke eye contact and fidgeted nervously. Then he sighed heavily and wondered what he should do to break the tension. If he was going to fix things with his son, he had to come to an agreement with this devil, who happened to be his son's… friend? Or was it family now? Stoick wasn't sure. Before he could come up with something, it was his son that interfered.

"Toothless…"

Again with the name of that blasted Night Fury. The chief was really tempted to bang his head on the wall. Hearing its name the dragon stopped looking at the big Viking and turned to look at his rider, pupils immediately turned round as the full moon. A gentle coo escaped the beast's mouth like the most natural thing in the world and it was meant for Hiccup only. A comfort.

"Bud…" Hiccup mumbled weakly again, his eyelids moved slightly.

Toothless thought it was a good idea to lick his rider's face and did just that.

"I don't wanna eat your fish, bud…"

That beckoned the dragon to try harder to wake Hiccup up.

"Hungry you useless reptile? I don't feel like going fishing right now."

Stoick approached when Hiccup's green orbs became visible to the world. But Toothless beat him to it and growled angrily. After that the dragon cooed sadly to his human.

"Can't feel my useless leg, Toothless."

That broke the father and the best friend's hearts. They couldn't do anything to fix his leg. And he still had the time to think of feeding Toothless. Stoick decided to join in the conversation even though he knew that was somewhat rude.

"Son, you need to rest. I'll feed Toothless."

The Night Fury titled his head and looked at the chief. Hiccup stopped mumbling and blinked dreamily. Silence.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

Surprisingly, Toothless was the one who shook his head at his rider's question. This was real. Everyone's hope for Hiccup to wake up was real. Toothless being right next to him was very real. The dragon and his rider's survival was comfortingly extremely real.

"Sleepy…" Hiccup muttered under his breath, choosing to believe Toothless about reality.

The first rider once again lost to the world. Stoick took a deep breath and faced the Night Fury.

"You…" He pointed to the dragon but slowly to prevent misunderstanding. "… and I…" gestured to himself. "… are important to Hiccup."

The Night Fury blinked his toxic green eyes at the statement. Yeah, he understood perfect what was said, alright? He was just having a hard time believing it. Toothless was confident about his role in Hiccup's life. But this Viking in front of him? Oh, he seriously needed time to see that. The smart dragon thought of what he could do to respond to the Stoick's statement. Then he got to work.

Stoick didn't know what to think when the dragon's long tail moved but remembering what happened on Dragon Island, he knew that the dragon understood and was trying to "talk" back. The black tail pointed to its owner and then to Hiccup. Toothless' front legs crossed like a hug. The dragon looked somewhat… _cute_ doing that.

"I. Hiccup. Close." was what Stoick could make out.

The tail pointed to Stoick and then to Hiccup. The black front legs were raised again and distance was formed between them just like when the Night Fury asked for long ropes on Dragon Island. Stoick was confused. Asking for long ropes wasn't irrelevant at the moment so definitely long ropes weren't what Toothless was talking about. The distance though meant something.

"You. Hiccup. Far."

Stoick and Hiccup were strangers to each other in the dragon's eyes. Stoick rubbed his face and let out a breath. As much as he disliked the dragon, it was right.

"I'm his father. I want to be there for him, just as much as you do."

"_I seriously doubt that."_ Toothless' facial expression spoke volume.

"I can prove it. Everyone here can. We need second chance."

The conception of second chance was quite foreign to Toothless. To dragons, and probably to other animals as well, things didn't magically change. Predators would always be predators. The same was said to preys. When we messed it up, we messed it up. That was that. Second chance was never an option. But then Hiccup changed a lot of things. His tail wasn't gone for good. More importantly, their forbidden friendship was against nature itself and was in fact, quite a magical change.

Stoick felt like he was going crazy when the dragon gave him a toothless smile. That must have been a positive thing, right? Approval. Wow, he never thought he would live to the day when he had to ask for approval to be with his son, especially approval from a _dragon_. Things indeed were changing dramatically. Hopefully for the better.

As he was about to leave the room, he could see a gentle smile on his son's peaceful and now wonderfully painless face as Toothless the Night Fury gave his rider a last lick before closing his big eyes. Definitely for the better.

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**A/N: I'll be as happy as Toothless was when he beat the Alpha and became the Alpha himself if you're so kind as to leave me reviews! Thank you for reading!**


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